Brand: Samsung Model Number: WF45R6100AP/US Main Symptom: Fails to drain water What happens & when: If I disable the spin cycle, it reaches the end of the wash cycle and simply turns itself off without draining the water. The door then remains locked since there is still water inside.
Error Code (if any): None
Parts or tests already tried: Ran multiple cycles which reproduced the behavior.
Photos / video link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LISFD5fUE6E
Washer is 6 years old. Never had an issue with it. Yesterday I ran a sanitize cycle and the door did not unlock. I then noticed that water was still inside, so I ran a rinse to try to force it to unlock (I disabled the spin cycle to achieve a shorter cycle), but it again did not drain the water after that.
If I enable the spin cycle, it drains properly. I ran a normal wash cycle successfully after that.
So, it does not appear that a part has failed. It seems that the draining is not being triggered properly by the washer under certain conditions, which seems like a logic/programming error? That seems unlikely to be an isolated issue to my machine. Any ideas?
Based on what you’ve described, I don’t think you have a drain pump failure.
The key clue is this:
Drain works normally whenever a spin cycle is selected.
The washer completes the cycle and shuts off without draining only when Spin is disabled.
No drain error (5C/SC) is displayed.
That tells us the drain pump, drain hose, pressure sensor, and most of the wiring are probably working.
First thing to know
On many Samsung front-load washers, turning Spin completely OFF does not mean “wash, then drain without spinning.” On certain cycles and option combinations, Spin Off is intended to leave the clothes soaking in water (Rinse Hold/No Spin behavior) until you manually select Drain & Spin afterward.
The fact that:
the door stays locked,
water remains in the tub,
no error occurs,
actually matches that behavior.
Let’s verify that
Try this simple test:
Run Quick Wash or Normal.
Leave Spin at its lowest speed (400 RPM or Low) instead of Off.
Let the cycle finish.
If it drains normally, then the washer is behaving as designed.
Another thing to check
If you specifically disabled spin by repeatedly pressing the Spin button until the display showed No Spin, check your owner’s manual to see whether that option is described as leaving water in the tub. Samsung has changed this behavior on different models over the years.
If this behavior is NEW
Since you mentioned you’ve owned it for six years and don’t remember it doing this before, there are a couple other possibilities.
1. Software glitch (most likely)
Disconnect power for 10-15 minutes, then restore power and test again.
Sometimes the control board can get into an odd state after an interrupted cycle or a Sanitize cycle.
2. Pressure sensor issue (less likely)
The pressure sensor tells the control whether water is still in the tub.
If it were sticking, you’d typically also see:
random long wash times,
drain errors,
repeated draining,
incorrect water levels,
or failure to begin spinning.
Since your washer spins and drains perfectly during a normal cycle, this doesn’t fit very well.
3. Main control board software problem (least likely)
If the machine suddenly changed behavior after years of normal operation, a control board issue is possible—but I wouldn’t replace it based on the current symptoms alone.
One question
Can you clarify how you’re disabling the spin cycle?
Does the display actually show “No Spin”?
Or are you selecting a cycle that simply doesn’t include a spin?
When it finishes, does it play the end-of-cycle melody before turning off, or does it just power down silently?
That answer will help determine whether you’re seeing normal Samsung “No Spin” behavior or an actual control issue.